Well this is a discussion of what many consider a 'high art'. Always using a vinegar based sauce, some smoke it and some don't, some go 'whole hog' and those with more modest equipment use pork shoulders or butts to put the magic together. Just so ya know, I'm strictly an amateur but there is a significant amount of dedication involved. I make BBQ and inflict it on my friends by sharing.
A description of the equipment involved can be
found here. The rig will easily handle four butts/shoulders and if crowded might manage six. I have yet to try that. The economy of scale requires that I do because whether doing one, two, four or six it takes 25~30 pounds of charcoal and about fourteen hours for the cooking/smoking. That doesn't count the time it takes to chop or pull it and then package it.
As for procedures, I try to keep the rig temp about 215 deg F for the whole process. I use a remote meat thermometer to measure the internal temp on one of the butts (in the coolest spot) to make sure we hit 165 deg F on the meat internal, thus making sure it is really cooked. During the 14 hour process I mop the butts several times with vinegar sauce to keep the butts from drying out. Oh, btw, the vinegar sauce is placed on the grill surface for about 10 minutes before mopping so that it is hot when used. That keeps the mop process from cooling the pork and lengthening the cooking time.
Once it's all done I chop the pork coursely and vacuum pack it. The vinegar sauce is applied lightly after it's all chopped cuz I like to taste the pork.
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